Category Archives: Local Government

Articles, Elections, Local Government

Weber, Evans Signed Notice Of Intent To Recall Harbor District Colleagues; Effort To Oust Nehmer, Schmidt On Hold, Gitlin Says

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Weber | Courtesy ccharbor.com

Thumbnail: Roger Gitlin told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that he has paused his recall effort against Harbor commissioners Dan Schmidt and Annie Nehmer until it can coincide with the November 2026 election. | Screenshot

Crescent City Harbor commissioners Gerhard Weber and John Evans have officially endorsed Roger Gitlin’s now-stalled campaign to recall their colleagues Dan Schmidt and Annie Nehmer.

Both confirmed that they had added their signatures to Giltin’s notice of intent to recall with Weber, the Board’s chairman, telling Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday that he feels guilty for urging the local Republican Party to endorse Nehmer. He called her smart and hard-working, but said she’s focusing on “minute rule things” instead of directing her energy in a way that is more positive for the harbor.

Weber also said that Schmidt, who purchased the Del Norte Triplicate from its previous owners last month, had revealed information about Harbormaster Mike Rademaker that had, up until then, been stated in closed session meetings. Most recently, Weber said, Schmidt is now claiming in the Triplicate that Rademaker was accused of sexual harassment.

Continue reading Weber, Evans Signed Notice Of Intent To Recall Harbor District Colleagues; Effort To Oust Nehmer, Schmidt On Hold, Gitlin Says →
Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

CCHD Commissioner Introduces Colleagues To His Brother Amid Nepotism Accusations

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Dan Schmidt | ccharbor.com

Three months after the Del Norte Triplicate accused Dan Schmidt of “introducing nepotism” to the Crescent City harbormaster, his fellow commissioners met the man Schmidt says could help right the Harbor District’s ship.

Dennis Schmidt, Dan’s “better-looking, nicer, funnier brother,” came to the podium Wednesday with 32 years’ experience working in the utilities, human resources and city manager’s departments for Anaheim. He’s got a Master’s degree in public administration, a Bachelor’s degree in organizational development and says he’s the guy top administrators bring in to help fix damaged systems.

Now that he’s retired, Dennis Schmidt, whose home alternates between Crescent City and the Mojave Desert community of Apple Valley, says he wants to help the Harbor District. But after a tepid reception from his brother’s colleagues, he said he thinks the Board of Commissioners was “looking for a reason to say no.”

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Articles, Education, Elections, Local Government

Michael Greer’s Prop. 50 Opposition Resolution Fails Twice With School Board Colleagues

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Greer | DNUSD

Thumbnail photo: Under new proposed Congressional District boundaries, Del Norte County would share a representative with Shasta, Siskiyou and Modoc counties, which are currently in District 1. | Photo courtesy of the Senate Election and Constitutional Amendments Committee.

Michael Greer made two unsuccessful attempts Thursday at getting his fellow school board members to officially oppose Proposition 50. 

Greer’s resolution before the Del Norte County Office of Education Board of Trustees and a similar resolution before the Del Norte County Unified School District Board had the same outcomes — dying due to lack of a second.

“I brought this (forward) because I believe that local communities, local school boards, local county offices of education, the county Board of Supervisors and the city itself needs to take part in a political process especially when it affects our California Constitution,” Greer said during the DNUSD Board meeting after acknowledging that the resolution he presented before the County Board failed to get a second motion. “The proposition takes away the opportunity to have that community support.”

Continue reading Michael Greer’s Prop. 50 Opposition Resolution Fails Twice With School Board Colleagues →
Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Local Government

Harbor Commissioners Direct Staff To Obtain Insurance Quotes For Inner Boat Basin

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Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

Though the district’s loan payment negotiations with the U.S. Department of Agriculture are on hold due to the federal government shutdown, Crescent City Harbor commissioners directed staff on Wednesday to obtain quotes for insuring the inner boat basin.

The Harbor District Board’s new vice chair, John Evans, encouraged Harbormaster Mike Rademaker and Fiscal Officer Sandy Moreno to continue exploring “alternative ideas” with the federal agency.

Moreno said having the insurance quotes, and finding out whether the Harbor District can afford insuring the marina or not may help in its negotiations with the USDA, particularly if those quotes address tsunami coverage.

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Editorials, Education, Local Government, Opinion

Editorial: Keep Party Politics Out Of Our Local Government

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Thumbnail photo: The Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees from left to right: Frank Magarino, Charlaine Mazzei, Don McArthur, Abbie Crist and Michael Greer. Courtesy of DNUSD.org.

This first editorial is the collective opinion of Redwood Voice Community News and KFUG Community Radio LLP and is separate from our regular news coverage. To make your own opinion known to us, email redwoodvoicedn@gmail.com.

It’s not lost on Redwood Voice Community News and KFUG Community Radio LLP that we are stating our opinion about a local elected official stating his opinion.

But when said elected official, in this case Del Norte Unified School District Trustee Michael Greer, seeks to make his opinion DNUSD’s official opinion by asking his colleagues to approve a resolution, we need to speak up.

Greer plans to ask his fellow school board members on Thursday to “adopt a position of opposition to Proposition 50.” For anyone who doesn’t know, if it passes, Prop. 50 would be California’s response to Texas’s efforts to add five more Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives through Congressional redistricting.

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Articles, Curry, Economy, Local Government, Transportation

Government Shutdown Threatens Commercial Air Service In Del Norte, Curry Counties

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Thumbnail image courtesy of Border Coast Regional Airport Authority

A day after finding out that commercial air service to Del Norte County may be a casualty of the federal government shutdown, Sean Rosenthal says he’s still searching for answers.

Less than two months after the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority hired him as airport director, Rosenthal said the U.S. Department of Transportation notified him on Monday that if the government shutdown continues, Alternative Essential Air Service funding will end Sunday. 

In an email to BCRAA members Tuesday morning, he said he had hoped to have some information to share, but he’s still working to “fully understand the impact this situation will have on us.”

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Articles, Curry, Local Government

Curry County Commissioners Says Spectrum Agreement Will Increase Public Meeting Access

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Thumbnail photo by Ken Lund via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License

Lynn Coker evoked Abbott and Costello before he and his colleague Patrick Hollinger approved a $6,335 agreement between Curry County and Spectrum Business on Wednesday.

Coker, who was appointed to the Board of Commissioners earlier this year, said he hoped the agreement, which will allow Curry County to televise its public meetings, will help residents better navigate local government.

“They attend these meetings, they listen and they read the news and they’re not quite sure who’s on first and why there’s a first base in the first place,” he said. “What’s the difference between the work a legislator does, like a Court Boyce, and the work the county does? Those kinds of things can be addressed in an educational format using our Spectrum education channels.”

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Articles, Curry, Local Government

Curry County DA Announces Resignation; Joshua Spansail Says His Last Day is Nov. 17

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Thumbnail photo: Curry County District Attorney Joshua Spansail announces his resignation to the Board of Commissioners on Wednesday. | screenshot

Curry County’s district attorney announced his resignation on Wednesday, telling the Board of Commissioners that he made the “bittersweet decision” for his family’s sake and his last day will be Nov. 17.

“I’ve been here going on 10 years now either as a deputy DA or the elected DA, but this is a family decision,” Joshua Spansail told commissioners Lynn Coker and Patrick Hollinger. “I have just had my third child and my wife and I made the decision that with a growing family and aging parents, it’s time to get closer to them, so we are going to be moving on.”

Board Chairman Jay Trost was absent.

Continue reading Curry County DA Announces Resignation; Joshua Spansail Says His Last Day is Nov. 17 →
Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

Former Fashion Blacksmith Owner Airs Concerns About Boat Yard Assessment, Outlines History With Crescent City Harbor

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Thumbnail photo: Former Fashion Blacksmith building at the Crescent City Harbor. | File photo by Gavin Van Alstine

More than a year after he closed his doors, Fashion Blacksmith owner Ted Long said there were data gaps in a recent environmental assessment the Crescent City Harbor District had commissioned of the site.

Long also questioned the need for a structural inspection of the boat yard building itself. He told commissioners on Sept. 24 that a 60-page report detailing the findings of a civil engineer he hired in 2022 was included as an exhibit in an arbitration that led to a settlement agreement between the two parties.

“All of these exhibits from our arbitration are on file with BBK and Del Norte Superior Court,” Long said, referring to the Harbor District’s former legal counsel, Best, Best and Krieger. “They are in fact public record. In good faith and to save scarce dollars for the Harbor District, even if it’s grant money, and for immediate access to current Board members, I would be willing to share the three exhibits from Western Wood Structures exactly as they were filed in the arbitration record. This includes the full 60-page inspection report and the proposed repair plan with all the estimates.”

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Articles, Curry, Local Government

Internal Investigation Clears Curry County Operations Director of Misconduct Against Assessor; Wegner Says ‘It’s Not Over’

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Wegner | Courtesy of LinkedIn

An independent investigation found no evidence that Curry County Director of Operations Ted Fitzgerald engaged in gender discrimination, harassment or retaliation against County Assessor and Tax Collector Kylie Wegner.

Even so, Wegner’s tort claim notice, sent to the Board of Commissioners on April 8, puts them on notice that she could take further legal action against the county and against Fitzgerald individually. On Monday — after the county announced the findings of the investigation — Wegner said she’s yet not at liberty to say what her next steps will be, but told Redwood Voice Community News that “it’s not over.”

“They are not denying they read these things that (Fitzgerald) sent me and they are saying they don’t have an issue with those types of messages being sent to an elected official,” she said. “Don’t I deserve respect? No employee or elected official should have to work in an environment like that.”

Continue reading Internal Investigation Clears Curry County Operations Director of Misconduct Against Assessor; Wegner Says ‘It’s Not Over’ →